Alberta

Press Releases

Canadian Pacific Railway officially filed its proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday outlining a shareholder resolution to be considered at Norfolk Southern Railway’s annual meeting this spring. But, the overture merely asks NS shareholders to consider a trust rather than set the stage for control over the NS board.

FedEx, the largest less-than-truckload carrier in North America and the second-largest trucking operator in the U.S., has joined the league of logistics industry groups, including rival UPS, opposed to a proposed Canadian Pacific-Norfolk Southern railway merger.

Canadian Pacific Railway CEO E. Hunter Harrison said Wednesday he will abandon a proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern Railway if shareholders at the Virginia railroad fail to pressure their board to sit down at the negotiating table with their Canadian counterparts.

Canadian Pacific Railway said Tuesday it plans to submit a resolution asking Norfolk Southern Railway shareholders request their board of directors engage in “good faith discussions” with CP regarding its proposed merger, the newest approach after the Calgary-based company has been rebuffed three times.

Canadian Pacific Railway has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a “collective campaign” spearheaded by other major railroads to block its increasingly hostile stock-and-cash bid for Norfolk Southern Railway.

Canadian Pacific and Norfolk Southern railway would have to convince U.S. rail regulators that a potential merger won’t set off a wave of Class I consolidation in order to get the greenlight, U.S. Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel Elliott said Thursday.

Shippers, lawmakers and other railroads are already petitioning federal regulators to reject the proposed tie-up of Canadian Pacific Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway even though the former has yet to file any legal notice with U.S. rail regulators.

Canadian Pacific Railway said its acquisition of Norfolk Southern Railway would improve fluidity through Chicago, but doubts remain whether a tie would do much to free up bottlenecks at the top U.S. freight hub — even if the deal gives CP control of a key belt railroad in the area.

Canadian Pacific Railway’s increasingly aggressive attempt to acquire Norfolk Southern Railway will have a regulatory smoother ride in Canada than in the U.S. — if NS shareholders jump on board with the plan.